This Thursday, Indie Rootz Records will present an entire and unique, all-female sung rendition of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of The Moon. The project is titled The Dark Side of Venus, a modern rock, and at times, RnB, remake of the classic Floyd album, featuring the Montreal-based trio of Bella Forte, NeeNee Knightly, & SLM, as well as Prestige from Woodstock, Ontario.
The project was inspired by Brian Kotler, who recently lost his sister, Donna, to Ovarian Cancer. Brian has fond memories of playing Pink Floyd around the house, somewhat forcing his sister to experience the band with him. The two even went to the Pink Floyd’s mythic show together back in 1994 in Montreal at the Big O.
The Dark Side of Venus was created in memory of Brian’s sister, but the launch event will raise funds for the Ovarian Cancer Society of Canada in the week of International Ovarian Cancer Day. We spoke with Brian a few days before the launch event about what Pink Floyd meant to his sister and him.
PAN M 360: So you were kind of the older brother who showed Donna Pink Floyd?
Brian Kotler: Yeah, I was the older big brother and I was a little bit of a terrorist. I used to play Pink Floyd and I used to have a locking stereo cabinet. You don’t want your younger sister to be messing around with your records, y’know. So I used to play Pink Floyd and lock the cabinet and just let it play. I guess I was the tormentor. And, now, ever since she passed away, it’s like, she’s the one that’s tormenting me. The purpose of this show is a tribute to her, and to get a little bit of closure. I mean I must have played the album a million times in her years.
PAN M 360: When did you come up with the idea to do a tribute album and show? Around her passing?
Brian Kotler: Literally ever since I got into music, doing the cover of Dark Side of the Moon was always on my bucket list. I never really explored it too hard. I started putting the wheels in motion to get to do the album a couple of months before she died. She was already with cancer already. But the tribute just came, that whole idea came afterward. I mean, I just figured that everything would be kind of perfect, like a complete circle.
PAN M 360: How did you go about finding the singers on the album?
Brian Kotler: One I knew very well. I worked with her before, and her name is Prestige. And she lives in Woodstock, Ontario. I’ve worked with her in the past. I’ve had recommendations from some of the others where I asked around because normally, we normally did a lot of reggae. And generally, reggae artists don’t really vibe to Pink Floyd. It’s, it’s like acid and water. Even my partner, I came up with a lot of the ideas. But my partner Bobby, he actually is the musician that played every single instrument on every single track.
PAN M 360: That must have taken forever.
Brian Kotler: Yeah. And so, for example, like maybe on the song “Money,” there might be like seven or eight guitar tracks on there, the drums, the keyboard, the bass—he played them all everywhere. And he hates Pink Floyd. I mean, the thing is, I wouldn’t say he hated Pink Floyd, but he didn’t care for Pink Floyd, he kind of just didn’t like them. But then having to hear the songs over and over and over and over again, and then play back what they did. I mean, it just made him hate it. And he’ll be quite blunt and say, the main reason he did it was for my sister too, because he knows how the whole loss affected me. It kind of carried him on to doing it and finishing it.
PAN M 360: What was it about Dark Side of the Moon, that specific Pink Floyd album, or just that band, that made you play them constantly?
Brian Kotler: To tell you the truth, I really don’t know. I just seemed to gravitate towards that. I could listen to Pink Floyd today, especially Dark Side of the Moon, and get and get taken away. It’s almost as if I’m getting high without taking the drugs. It really carries me away. It was something that I could just relate to in many different ways. I’d say it’s almost a spiritual connection that I had for that type of music.
Brian & Donna Kotler in their ’80s goth phase / photo coutesy of Brian Kotler
PAN M 360: And on this new covers, tribute record, some of the lyrics are more updated to reflect these times?
Brian Kotler: Yes. I wanted to update it because you know, it’s no longer ’73. We’re in 2023, and for lack of a better word, a lot of shit is going on in this world that really needs to be addressed. Like for “The Great Gig in the Sky,” which is like an opera song—which I have an opera singer singing, and she happens to have a doctor’s degree—it’s about the right to death. And if you listen to the ad-libs on it, or the news bites, actually, it’s dealing with people that have cancer, and they’re coming to the end of their life; they’re in pain and they want to die. They want to die with dignity, they want to die on their terms.
And even for my sister, she actually wanted to go through that too. But unfortunately, by the time they wanted to give her the paperwork. She was already too drugged out on morphine and she wasn’t able to sign the papers. And I could tell you, you’d walk into the little on the floor on the hospital wing and you could hear a bawling, “I want to die I want to die, I can take the pain no more now.” That’s … It’s almost surreal. I mean, it’s your it’s your own sister. And she’s almost begging to die. And then once she passes through, it’s almost like a relief. I mean, knowing that, she wanted to die. It’s a really, really, really wicked roller coaster ride that you go through during those times. So I just felt that those ad-libs there are so relatable.
PAN M 360: Bringing up “Money” again, SLM really adds a kind of RnB, hip-hop flair to the track.
Brian Kotler: She’s an amazing young rap artist and I love what she did on that too. She really really made it her own and she did a great job with that. Giving it a very distinct I mean, she did it in her own timing. It sounds like a very bluesy type of laidback feel.
PAN M 360: So the event will be the performance of The Dark Side of Venus and then a kind of after party.
Brian Kotler: Exactly. I want to give people more for their money. The album is around 45 minutes so we actually filmed a music video with NeeNee Knightly, the opera singer. She’s in a theatre alone, well actually I’m there for a bit, but she performs “The Great Gig in the Sky,” and we have a drone that ends it going into the sky with a picture of my sister. So we have that we will show and then some more music from Drew Edghill, DJ Lady Savage. and more surprises.
Le band montréalais Vendôme présente ce vendredi 5 mai son premier album, La fable de la grenouille dorée, une véritable aventure musicale débordante d’énergie et de refrains accrocheurs. PAN M 360 s’est entretenu avec le quatuor composé de Cédrik St-Onge, Marc-Antoine Beaudoin (Marco Ema), Tom Chicoine et Bruno St-Laurent au Café Chat L’Heureux à Montréal afin d’en savoir plus sur leur cheminement depuis leur parcours jusqu’en demi-finales aux Francouvertes en 2021 et la création de leur long jeu.
En 2017, les quatre protagonistes se sont rencontrés au Festival international de la chanson de Granby et c’est à ce moment que Vendôme est né. Dans leur nouvel opus, ils racontent l’histoire de la grenouille dorée, un amphibien singulier dont ils ont fait la connaissance lors d’une sortie en chalet et qui les a suivis depuis. Tout au long du projet, les membres du groupe tentent de la protéger face au monde extérieur. Composé de onze pièces, ce nouvel album se dévoile comme une métaphore des membres de la formation qui font de leur mieux pour préserver leur cœur d’enfant tout en grandissant dans l’industrie musicale québécoise.
Pour la création de La fable de la grenouille dorée, tous les membres du groupe ont mis la main à la pâte, ce qui a donné vie à un mélange de titres qui explorent des sentiers pop, rock classique, folk et même psychédélique. La variété des avenues explorées par le band et le fait que chacun des membres apparaît vocalement sur le projet leur permet d’exceller autant dans des morceaux plus denses musicalement comme le Pays des grands que dans ceux plus personnels tels que 03.04.2019. Aussi, les pièces instrumentales qui se faufilent dans l’album ajoutent davantage à la richesse créative de la fable et rendent cet excellent projet encore plus cohérent.
PAN M 360 : Comment se sont déroulées vos deux dernières années depuis votre participation aux Francouvertes en 2021?
VENDÔME : Depuis les Francouvertes, on a beaucoup travaillé sur cet album. C’est pas mal ce qu’on a fait depuis la fin de notre parcours à cette compétition. On a aussi fait quelques concerts et travaillé sur nos visuels. On s’est beaucoup demandé « c’est quoi Vendôme? ». Au cours des derniers mois, on a vraiment bâti notre identité en tant que groupe.
PAN M 360 : Justement, quelle est l’identité de Vendôme?
VENDÔME : Notre groupe, c’est un vrai laisser-aller. En comparaison à nos carrières solos, Vendôme nous permet d’être libres et d’aller à fond dans nos pulsions et nos idées. Il n’y a quasiment pas de ligne directrice, c’est ça qui est bien. On se fait parfois dire qu’on est des enfants quand on est en groupe, et on croit que c’est un peu ça Vendôme. Ça nous permet de garder une certaine naïveté. Vendôme, c’est comme un groupe d’amis du secondaire, mais en plus vieux et moins niaiseux.
PAN M 360 : Vous n’hésitez pas à explorer différentes avenues dans La fable de la grenouille dorée. Pensez-vous que cela provient du fait que vous êtes quatre personnes qui chantent et qui sont impliquées dans la création musicale?
VENDÔME : On pense que oui, mais on croit que c’est quelque chose de positif. On frappe un peu partout, mais ça fait partie de notre identité. On réussit à trouver un certain équilibre là-dedans.
Tout le monde est impliqué et chacun de nous propose des idées de chansons. Si un matin Bruno écrit une chanson, on va tous vouloir en écrire une aussi, on se lance un peu des petits défis. Parfois, il y a des morceaux qu’on a écrits à trois, d’autres à quatre. C’est vraiment aléatoire notre façon de fonctionner. Bruno et Cédric se sont occupés de la réalisation de l’album et ils ont réussi à bâtir un genre de gruau. Un résultat qui ne se tient pas nécessairement ensemble, mais quand tu y ajoutes un peu de lait, ça fonctionne et ça devient vraiment bien.
PAN M 360 : Est-ce que ce « lait », ce sont les pièces instrumentales présentes dans l’album?
VENDÔME : Définitivement. Les pièces instrumentales rendent le projet plus cohérent. Cependant, ça s’est fait assez naturellement, on n’y a pas vraiment pensé d’avance. Ça provient directement de nos pulsions créatives. Comme on disait plus haut, on se sent libre quand on crée en tant que band et on suit nos intuitions.
PAN M 360 : Parlez-moi de La fable de la grenouille dorée, quelle est l’idée derrière ça?
BRUNO ST-LAURENT : Quand nous étions à mon chalet dans les Laurentides, nous avons fait la rencontre d’une grenouille qui nous a vraiment marqués. Elle était très différente des autres et avait une personnalité assez forte. Cet évènement est devenu tellement ancré dans nos mémoires qu’on a décidé d’en faire la ligne directrice de notre album. Ce qui est drôle, c’est que lorsque nous sommes arrivés chez la grand-mère de Cédric en Gaspésie pour enregistrer notre projet, il y avait un bibelot d’une grenouille dorée. À ce moment-là, notre concept a pris encore plus de sens. La fable de la grenouille dorée, c’est un peu une histoire qui ne peut être racontée et qu’on va enterrer avec nous lors de notre mort. Ensuite, si on parle de l’album, ça parle d’amitié, de trucs super banals et de choses qui sont plus grandes que nous.
CÉDRIK ST-ONGE : Je vois la grenouille comme étant quelque chose qu’on essaie de protéger tout au long du projet. Ça représente un peu notre enfance et ce côté de nous qui veut rester jeune. Sinon il y a le titre Vampire, qui représente la partie de l’industrie musicale qui veut nous rendre plus sérieux et limiter notre liberté créative. Ça parle aussi de notre recherche de la gloire en tant qu’auteurs-compositeurs-interprètes. On voudrait tous rejoindre le « Pays des grands », soit de faire partie des artistes importants du Québec et d’être reconnus. Tout au long, on essaie de protéger la grenouille du vampire, car il ne faut jamais qu’on perde notre plaisir de créer.
PAN M 360 : Comment allez-vous faire pour tenter de rejoindre le « Pays des grands » tout en restant des « enfants »? Est-ce que vous sentez que ce sera difficile de le faire?
VENDÔME : Au fil du temps, on accorde de moins en moins d’importance au « Pays des grands ». On se concentre plus à rester nous-mêmes. Plus on vieillit et on avance dans le milieu de la musique, plus on se rend compte que ce n’est pas nécessairement ça qui va nous rendre heureux. On met l’importance sur le plaisir de créer et d’éprouver du plaisir entre amis. On a tous nos carrières respectives et Vendôme c’est un complément qui est amusant et différent.
PAN M 360 : Votre avez créé le morceau 03.04.19 en avril 2019. Par le passé, vous avez mentionné que vous n’aviez toujours pas trouvé de sens à ce morceau, mais qu’il était tout de même extrêmement important pour vous. Est-ce toujours le cas? Qu’est-ce qui vous y rattache autant?
VENDÔME : Encore à ce jour, nous n’avons pas trouvé la signification de cette chanson. Elle nous procure beaucoup d’émotions et chaque fois que nous la chantons, ça nous procure un apaisement. C’est vraiment un mystère pour nous et c’est un peu pour ça qu’on l’a gardée sur l’album. Ça fait du bien parfois d’avoir un titre qui ne veut pas nécessairement dire de quoi et que tu peux te laisser aller dans l’émotion. Ce genre de chanson acoustique permet à tes auditeurs d’avoir un moment seul avec l’artiste, c’est superbe.
PAN M 360 : Le reste de l’album est-il autant « vieux »?
VENDÔME : 03.04.19, c’est la chanson la plus vieille. Il y a aussi Brian Jones et Pays des grands qui datent un peu. Sinon, il y a une grosse partie de l’album qui s’est fait récemment en 2021 et 2022.
PAN M 360 : Comment est né votre morceau Brian Jones?
TOM CHICOINE : Une fois lorsqu’on revenait d’un show à Thetford Mines, on s’est baigné dans la piscine de la mère à Marco. Disons qu’on avait fêté pas mal et qu’on n’était peut-être pas dans le meilleur état pour aller dans une piscine. Plus tard, j’ai repensé à ce moment-là et je me suis dit à moi-même « on n’était vraiment pas en état de se baigner, est-ce que l’un de nous aurait pu se noyer? ». C’est à ce moment-là que j’ai pensé à la triste histoire du musicien des Rolling Stones, Brian Jones, qui est mort noyé. Je me suis dit qu’il y avait quelque chose à faire avec ça, je l’ai montré aux gars et ils m’ont aidé à finir l’écriture. La création de la musique a été très spontanée et on a trippé sur la chanson dès les premiers instants.
PAN M 360 : En terminant, que signifie l’avant-dernier titre de votre album, Mon band Vendôme?
MARC-ANTOINE BEAUDOIN : Ce morceau découle d’une blague lorsque nous étions ensemble autour du feu. Bruno jouait de la guitare près du feu et on s’est mis à chanter « Mon band Vendôme ». Un autre jour, je me suis réveillé et j’avais rêvé qu’on arrivait devant une clôture dorée avec un chemin en or, un peu comme la pochette de notre troisième single avec la grenouille dorée. La seule différence c’est que dans mon rêve, ce n’était pas une grenouille qui nous accueillait, mais bel et bien Jean-Pierre Ferland. Je suis un grand fan de sa musique et de son album Jaune. C’est pour ça que j’y fait référence dans la chanson. Pour moi, ce titre représente notre dernier effort pour atteindre la gloire avant de réaliser que ce n’est peut-être pas ça le mieux. Mon band Vendôme, c’est vraiment une chanson d’amour pour mes trois camarades. Vendôme, c’est un peu une deuxième tentative pour moi, la première étant mon projet solo. C’est un renouveau.
BRUNO ST-LAURENT : J’aime ça que tu dises que c’est en quelque sorte la dernière « toune » qui parle du rêve de la gloire, parce que juste après il y a la chanson Au final qui dit que c’est le chemin qui compte et non le but. Le rêve de devenir des « grands » est beau et il faut le garder, n’est ce n’est pas nécessairement important de s’y rendre. Ce qui est important c’est de vivre notre vie pleinement.
We continue our interviews with the last three finalists of the CMIM. Here’s what South Korean SongHa Choi and SooBeen Lee, performing respectively Prokoviev’s Concerto No. 2 and Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No. 1, and Kazakh Ruslan Talas, who will perform Paganini’s Concerto No. 1, had to share after their dress rehearsal with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Payare.
PAN M 360 : What is your state of mind right now, a few hours before your final event?
SongHa Choi : I have to say, I think more than before the rehearsal, my excitement level just went extremely high. I didn’t know they could get even higher! But I have complete trust in the conductor and the orchestra, and I think there can be a lot of fun and spontaneous moments that we can create. I should be nervous, but then it’s more of an adrenaline thing. I keep treating it like a concert because it’s such a beautiful hall and audiences. I felt like that in the earlier rounds also. It was just about just being in the moment and just reacting to what’s happening at the moment, rather than thinking, oh, juries are sitting there. No, they’re just part of the audience.
SooBeen Lee : Well, the interesting part is that in this competition, of course, I feel nervous, but for some reason, it’s more like excitement rather than nervousness. This hall is very nice to play in and very beautiful, and especially the orchestra and Rafael is very great and very easy to work with. So I’m just very excited to play tonight.
Ruslan Talas : I am looking forward to play. It’s an amazing orchestra, one of the best orchestras I’ve ever played with. Maestro Rafael Payare is very delicate. He helps a lot. I’ve never played the whole piece with the orchestra. Tonight will be my first time! I’m very excited to play. I’m feeling good.
PAN M 360 : Of all the available concertos in the repertoire, why did you choose this one and why? What are the challenges of the piece?
SongHa Choi : Actually, I don’t think even though it’s a very popular concerto, it’s not really used for the favorite concerto final of a competition. But I just personally really like Prokofiev as a composer because of his absolutely mad imaginations and creativity for his character stories, and fairy tales. I get to write my own story each time I perform. I like the amount of colors and the enchanting stories of it.
SooBeen Lee : Well, the challenge is obvious that everyone knows this piece. So I want to make this as satisfying as it should be for everyone. But also, it’s just so much fun to play. The reason I chose this concerto is because it was actually the first concerto that I learned when I was eleven years old. Since then, whenever I got to play this with an orchestra, I just loved the moment so much. Since this final round is such a big stage for me, I just wanted to choose something that I can have the most fun with.
Ruslan Talas : You know, I fell in love with this piece when I was a little boy. I love this music for its lyrical phrases, for its passion, love and operatic sense. It’s very near to my heart. I just love this music.
PAN M 360 : What does it mean to you to be at CMIM and how is this competition different from others you have participated in?
SongHa Choi : To be honest, I really had no idea that I would be in the finals. So it’s a very pleasant surprise. It really means a lot because I’ve been following this competition for probably over ten years. And my friends have been prize winners and laureates, and I’ve seen them competing. It is such an honor to be also competing against five other really great friends and young musicians that I’ve met. This competition is really special because of the atmosphere that the team creates. It’s so friendly and extremely well organized. Also the fact that we can stay with host families, I think we’re able to experience it differently, especially with my host mom. She’s telling me all about the Montreal culture. I get to experience all the little things and it’s really nice.
SooBeen Lee : Well, the special thing I felt from this competition was that the audience was very warm. Even from my first and second round, I already could feel a lot of support from the audience. For some reason I just didn’t feel like playing a competition, I just felt like I’m just performing for people. And those people are so nice here. I met the best host family here too. I’m having such a great time in Montreal so far..
Ruslan Talas : For me, it’s a great honor because I’ve heard about this competition many times when I was nine. Violinists like Gidon Kremer and Spivakov won this competition. It’s such a prestigious and very famous competition and one of the best in the world. Just that I played in the competition is already a big victory for me. I’m just happy to play with these amazing musicians and amazing violinists.
The grand prize winner and the special prize winners will be announced tonight at the closing ceremony at the Maison symphonique.
What happens when a painter, two musicians and a motion designer meet? Isotone, a collective of multimedia artists, and this is not the beginning of a bad joke, but rather the beginning of a beautiful adventure. A journey that has led them to collaborate with institutions such as Québec Cinéma, the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (NEM), Moment Factory, Mutek and MAPP.
The collective will be celebrating its fifth anniversary on Saturday, May 6th, and to mark the occasion, they’re taking over the SAT with an event that’s nothing short of multidisciplinary. On the programme: until 9pm, an exhibition entitled Impermanences which revolves around the notion of transformation and which will become the scenography for the musical evening hosted by local DJs Ramzilla, Gene Tellem, Kris Guilty and Mok T. A few days before this great celebration, PAN M 360 spoke with the four members of the studio to review their achievements and especially to whet our appetite for Saturday.
PAN M 360 : Introduce yourselves and Isotone in a few words
Isotone : Isotone was born as a collective of artists including Hugo Fournier, Félix Bonjour, Bar Rubinstein and Lilian Guiran. In terms of creative background we are quite heterogeneous, Hugo comes from painting and mural creation, Félix and Lilian from instrumental and electronic music and Bar from design and animation. We found ourselves at the crossroads of these worlds in search of new horizons and digital arts were the trigger for all this. For five years now, we have been exploring this creative path together, questioning and inspiring each other’s intentions in our joint and personal projects, Isotone is a project that makes us deeply happy every day.
PAN M 360 : How was Isotone born?
Isotone : The whole story is a bit long to tell, but if we had to sum it up in a few words, Isotone was born of such an improbable combination of circumstances that we still marvel every time we think about it. It’s crazy that such a chain of happy coincidences gave life to what, today, animates ours. We didn’t even know each other before we started the project, an opportunity to perform Vjing came out of the blue when we were meeting, by chance, through friends of friends. None of the four of us had any experience of it but we quickly realised that we all wanted to try it and that was enough to get us started. We tried to understand together the basics of the practice and, 3 weeks later, we performed for more than 6 hours in front of 800 people in a techno party (laughs). We also came up with the name of the project in an hour, between two tutorials, because the communication people needed to validate the design of the posters. It was maybe the fifth time in our lives that we saw each other at that moment and, as this initiative was one of the most beautiful choices of our lives, we haven’t doubted it since.
PAN M 360 : How do you work together as individuals ?
Isotone : We are often asked this question but, to be honest, it is not an exact science. Since we have learned everything together and we know each other by heart, we are aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses, but what is most important is mutual help and curiosity. We dare to say things to each other, what makes us want to and what makes us afraid and, depending on the availability of each member during the project, we talk to each other to find the right formula. Of course, our creative backgrounds make it easier or harder to do certain tasks, but over the last five years we have motivated each other to diversify our practices and never stop learning. Nowadays, any of us could take on a whole multimedia project on our own if we had to, although that’s exactly what we’re trying to avoid as we know how much further projects are pushed when we have the joy of developing them together.
PAN M 360 : You are celebrating your 5th anniversary, an opportunity to look in the rear-view mirror. What were the encounters and important moments that allowed Isotone to become what it is?
Isotone : It’s going to be hard to name all the people who have been important to us over the last few years, Isotone is above all a story of encounters, people who have reached out to us and with whom trust and esteem have been built up over the course of the projects. Of course, we can’t help but think of our first Vj performances and other digital scenographies with most of the electronic music collectives in Montreal. It’s a world that forged us, that we loved to explore and that continues to stimulate us. There were also the first official recognitions by people in the field such as the Moment Factor jury prize we received for our creation Prémices at the MINUTES_MAPPING 2019 festival by MAPP MTL. Of course, how can we not mention our first performances at the SAT dome, which was under the aegis of Mutek during their Dômesicle event and at the closing of their festival last year, that was deeply significant for us all. Finally, there is someone who has a special place in our hearts and whose encounter continues to have a huge influence on our studio, and that is Shandor Chury, the founder of OVVO studio who has become a close friend to all of us at Isotone.
This is a difficult question for us because we know we can’t name everyone, but we sincerely hope that all the people with whom we have shared screenings, set-ups / tear-downs, nice discussions or even a few dance steps will recognise themselves and know how grateful we are for all these moments spent together.
PAN M 360 : Which of the completed projects perhaps holds a special place in your heart?
Isotone : Again, it’s hard to choose just one, but with a few years of hindsight, the Ingénu.e project is surely one of the studio’s strongest memories. It was at the very beginning of Isotone’s history in 2018, through our friend and DJ Djima we heard about a festival organizing a residency in Val-de-Reuil, a small town near Rouen in France. We decided to join forces to create a live performance linking Vjing, music and dance. Isotone was responsible for the visual part, our friends from 3.6 Studio for the music and Ilan Gratini for the dance part with the help of Ariane Servagent. After a year of scattered work, trying to find slots wherever we could to bring together the ten or so actors present on this project and to move forward little by little, we actually found ourselves at the Les Effusions festival residency to finalise the show. After a month of continuous work on site, we performed Ingénu.e, a contemporary rewriting of Voltaire’s book of (almost) the same name, in front of the festival audience. What a magical moment, even today we don’t know how we managed to build such a big project (1 hour of live show!) with the experience we had at the time. It was really magical and founding for the future.
PAN M 360 : Digital art creation often calls for interactivity and immersion. How do you conceptualise these two approaches and what place do they have in your work?
Isotone : We are aware of the novelty of digital art, having access to such a plurality of forms and tools for an artist is an incredible opportunity, but we also know that this can influence creators to sometimes tend towards intentions motivated more by the technical than the artistic… We always focus on the notion of accuracy, in a reality where the tools allow us to do literally what we want without real limits, it is essential for us to differentiate what we want to do from what we can do. We are lucky enough to have a fair amount of technical experience through the combination of our know-how and experience, but we constantly try to make sure that all our decisions are made for poetic reasons. If the work calls for interactivity, we will use it, as well as immersive, monumental, etc., but this is by no means a sine qua non, and it will not be up to the budget or the material to decide on their presence in the project. We have made a promise to ourselves to always put intentionality and sensitivity first, no matter what the conditions, the whole of our approach is based on this and we never stop questioning ourselves in order to maintain this will.
PAN M 360 : Part of the collective is in France, what projects are you developing across the Atlantic?
Isotone : Despite the fact that three quarters of the studio’s members have been living in Quebec for years, we are aware of the link that connects us to our country of origin, where our families live and where we grew up. Our member Félix Bonjour has even been based in Paris for a few years now and we are constantly refining our workflow to make working remotely as smooth as possible. We are taking advantage of this to do more and more projects across the Atlantic, and this should continue to increase as time goes on. We were talking earlier about Shandor Chury and his studio OVVO, and there are some great things in the pipeline for us in that area. We can’t reveal everything yet, but it’s clear to us that the direction the studio is taking at the moment is rather international and that France has been and will be the starting point for many things. After that, it’s extremely important for us to assume our love for Quebec, it’s here that everything started and it’s here that everything will continue no matter what, Isotone is above all a Quebec project, no matter what the international vocations are. Of course, we wonder a lot about the method, it’s too thorny a question to be able to cover in a few words, but all the members of the studio have a fairly developed ecological conscience and we are constantly trying to build a process that allows the distribution of our creations internationally while paying close attention to the carbon footprint of the studio. Artists like Joanie Lemercier are a great inspiration for us in this respect and motivate us every day to be a little better than the day before.
PAN M 360 : What can we expect from this celebration at the SAT and what does it mean to you?
Isotone : This celebration is an achievement. We all agree that this is our biggest and best project to date. Making original creations has always been our favourite thing to do, so to put together an entire custom-made exhibition, with no other constraints than those we set ourselves, and all in a place like the SAT, is a dream in itself. For the Impermanences exhibition, we gave everything. We did everything we wanted to do without any concession. The fact that we are all together, that we are completely free to explore the materiality in addition to the digital, to compose the music and the visuals for the four works together, to prepare performances and even to be able to invite our friends for DJ sets all night long is such a chance that we decided to throw ourselves body and soul into this project and that makes us deeply happy. We can’t wait to share this with everyone, to share moments of exchange and to party with all the people there; there’s not a day that goes by that we don’t feel like we’re living a daydream.
PAN M 360: What are the upcoming projects?
Isotone : The first project that comes to mind without any hesitation is to take a rest (laughs). The last few months have been very busy for us, but the last few weeks have been very intense. We need to take some time out together, with friends, to recharge our batteries and start again! Obviously, the other project that comes to mind is to look for other contexts for the four installations we created for the Impermanences exhibition, in order to let them live and make their own way now that they exist in our world and not only in our heads. Also, another project that is very close to our hearts and that we have been working on slowly but surely for a year is our first full live performance as Isotone. A live performance where the four of us are on stage playing in real time with all the media we have in our inventory. We hope to tell you more about it soon, but one thing is for sure, even if we rest, we will never stop experimenting and creating together and individually, all kinds of great things are on the way!
PAN M 360: What will you wish for when you blow out your candles on Saturday?
Isotone : We wish each other many things, but what stands out in particular is simply to continue on this path of esteem and tenderness to push the Isotone project as far as possible. We are deeply grateful for the life we have and we believe that the most beautiful thing that could happen to us is to perpetuate together, again and again, this quest for poetry with the same ardour that has animated us for five years now.
Le Concours musical international de Montréal (CMIM) , which is dedicating its 2023 edition to the violin, is in full swing and will reach its final outcome on Thursday evening at the Maison symphonique. Six finalists, 4 men and 2 women, in their early twenties and coming from Ukraine, the United States, Israel, South Korea and Kazakhstan. On the sidelines of this final, which will take place today and Friday, we had the opportunity to speak with the finalists after their dress rehearsal with the OSM and Rafael Payare, a few hours before their competition. To begin, here is Dmytro Udovychenko (Ukraine) who will play Shostakovich’s Concerto No. 1, Nathan Meltzer (United States) who will perform Berg’s Concerto No. 1 “In Memory of an Angel” and Michael Shaham (Israel) who will conclude the evening with Sibelius’ Concerto No. 2 in D minor.
PAN M 360: What is your state of mind right now, a few hours before your final event?
Dmytro Udovychenko : I feel very thrilled and will try my best today with this wonderful orchestra.
Nathan Meltzer : Right now, I’m kind of riding the high of experiencing this piece with an orchestra for the first time and basking out about how really great it feels and sounds. Everything went really smoothly. I’m really glad that I didn’t have any major memory slips [laugh]. You have to kind of memorize the entire orchestra part because it’s so interconnected. So, I’m pretty relieved that it didn’t blow up in my face. I’m trying to stay in the moment, and I’m just looking forward to playing the piece again tonight.
Michael Shaham : I have actually been in this situation before, in the finals, having to play Sibelius’s concerto. And I think if I had to do one thing differently from that time is to have a mindset that I already won. Because no matter the price, I’m not going to think about what placement I will get or the other competitors, which are fantastic, which is also a reason not to think about that. I’m just going to play and have fun with the orchestra playing my favorite music, which is very important. I will try to say something to the audience and the jury members to make it memorable.
PAN M 360 : Of all the concertos available in the repertoire, why did you choose this one and why? What are the challenges of this piece?
Dmytro Udovychenko : Shostakovich Concerto No. 1 is my favorite concerto and one of the favorite pieces of music in general, so it’s always a great honor and challenge at the same time for me to be able to play it.
Nathan Meltzer : Berg’s Concerto No. 1 “In Memory of an Angel is a pretty rarely done work. I think it’s an amazing piece, but I’d really never seen it on a rep list for a competition. So it really just struck me as a really rare opportunity to delve into a piece that is not the normal rotation of concertos for orchestras. The difficulty is partially the obscurity of it. It’s the technical, challenges and musical ideas that are quite far removed from classical violin technique like what you learn in your lesson. So it requires a lot of imagination and a lot of understanding of the scope of the piece. But it’s just a brilliant piece of writing and very clever. The whole Second Viennese School serialist idea just leads to this really interesting sound. In a strange way, it is a very earnest kind of piece when compared to composers like Shostakovitch, and Bartók, where there’s this kind of crassness and sarcasm. I was really shocked to learn that there really is very little that in this piece. It’s a very earnest and very soulful piece despite having this sound world that is really alarming.
Michael Shaham : I chose Sibelius’ Concerto No. 2 in D minor because it was part of my childhood: when I heard my father, who is a violinist, perform it for the first time with an orchestra. It means a lot to me and it is one of my favorite concertos since I was a child. I think the difficulty with this concerto is that it’s not very soloist-oriented. I think it’s more of a symphony than a concerto, in a way. I’m really part of the orchestra, and we’re creating something huge together, like a big mountain. And it’s not very ego-driven, which I really like.
PAN M 360 : What does it mean to you to be at CMIM and how is this competition different from others you have participated in?
Dmytro Udovychenko : Every competition is a different story for me and, of course, at the end of this one I already have a huge amount of very strong impressions! It’s an amazing journey and I’m so grateful to the competition team and to everyone who is involved in this great celebration of music!
Nathan Meltzer : It’s an amazing honor to be at the final stage here, and I’m very glad to be able to play this piece. I’m really glad to be able to put all this work into learning and enveloping this kind of sound world. I’m just really excited that there’s going to be, like, a sense of closure to it, to play and experience the piece. Every competition is a little different and has their kind of emphasis. What I was so interested in for CMIM, was the fact that they highly recommended that the competitors bring their own pianist and that the rep list was so open-ended and that I was able to do some really interesting pieces. Because I brought my own pianist, I was able to really think of it more as an opportunity to put together a couple of interesting recital programs. I felt very musically fulfilled in this competition and I’m really glad that I was able to learn and work on and perform all these pieces. And also the Hall! This is amazing!
Michael Shaham : I’m not very experienced with competition, to be honest. But my impression is that this is probably the most professional competition there can be. I’m very impressed by the organization here. The atmosphere is great. It’s exactly what I expected and hoped it would be. I’ve been following, maybe with delay, but I’ve been following the recent editions of the violin competitions here, and it’s just so great to be here in the finals and join all of those colleagues of mine and violinists that I look up to.
The profiles of the remaining three finalists will be online this Thursday.
Known for their very own brand of angular and caustic tones, Winnipeg’s noise punk champions, Tunic, are back today with their third full-length, Wrong Dream, via Artoffact Records. After releasing two albums in 2021, Quitter and Exhaling (the latter being a compilation of EPs and singles), the trio was able to delve deeper inside themselves to excavate an array of fresh new sounds and yet unheard structures.
The new album, Wrong Dream does not feel pre-chewed in the slightest. Quite the opposite actually; it feels so whole and complex that you might start to think you’re going to choke on it. An ambitious album that shows they can convey deep emotions while also being as heavy as ever. I had the pleasure of speaking with the group’s singer-guitarist, David Schellenberg, about creating songs with intention, the joys of touring, and the timelessness of music.
PAN M 360: How did the pandemic affect the band? Did the fact that you had to stop playing live for a while change the way you’re writing songs?
DavidSchellenberg: Yeah, Tunic played about 100 shows a year before the pandemic. We toured a lot and that was a big part of who we were. Sort of just being road dogs. And then, sort of being broke because of it. So, because we always had a tour coming up, we would write as fast as possible and, this time, we were able to think through arrangements or be a little more cognizant of what we wanted the band to sound like. I actually wrote a big chunk of this record by myself, in my basement. I never had any recording software before, so that’s something I dove into during the pandemic, so it was a completely new experience of how we work together.
PAN M 360: Do you usually write everything the three of you together as a unit?
DavidSchellenberg: Typically, I would just bring like a riff or two, and then we will go from there, and sort of see where the music took us, if you will. Whereas this time, I was delivering maybe about 60% baked ideas, and then we fleshed them out. So I guess, more and more like a traditional band would work. I already had songs, like a singer-songwriter has, not that I would call myself that!
PAN M 360: Your new album, Wrong Dream, seems to have longer songs and seems to be slightly less sonically abrasive. Is this something that came about organically or something that was intentional?
DavidSchellenberg: It was pretty natural. To be honest, the last two records before Wrong Dream we made with my friend Jace Lasek at Breakglass studio in Montreal. And foreverything we did, I just wanted it to sound like Converge. I wanted it to sound as blown out and as heavy as possible. And we did a really great job of doing that. Then when we worked on Wrong Dream we had these more thoughtful arrangements and we wanted to maybe have some more thoughtful production to it. So it was a decision that we made to show that we aren’t just a one-dimensional band. I think when you play out in the street, you don’t want to be giving people the exact same thing. So it was just time to kind of show that we can still be that heavy, abrasive band, while also occupying a different space.
PAN M 360: Do you usually prefer being in the studio, or playing live shows?
David Schellenberg: That’s changed for me recently. I’ve always hated the studio because I always played in a band with musicians that were much better than me, so when it came for me to track a part, I would just get really nervous and really anxious. And I love touring because it’s just, like, a moment, and then it’s gone. And if you fuck up, who cares? But now I’ve really come to fall in love with the studio and sort of creating these pieces of art that live forever, because, you know, we practice and we write and we make this art so that it can be a completed project and sort of be this thing that stays forever and so, I really switched my gears and I now much prefer the studio because the longevity of the project is there.
PAN M 360: You seem to put a lot of effort and focus on the visual side of the band, like the music videos, for example. Do you usually come up with the concepts or do you let the collaborating artists take the lead on that?
David Schellenberg: Yeah, a lot of those concepts for all the older stuff, thinking back to Disappointment and Boss and the Exhaling videos, like “Fade Out” and all that stuff, are just like: “How can we make a music video for $100, $200?” “The Whispering,” video was all my ideas that were helped, like, broadly about 80% by Jen and Adam, who worked on that video with us. The video for “My Body, My Blood” that Torin Langen made, he just took it and ran with it. That’s all him. I can’t take any credit for that! And that has been my favourite thing that he’s ever done, that we’ve ever made. So all the ones that feature real people are from me and all the ones that are animated or sort of higher budget are from other people.
PAN M 360: So you’re going on tour in the US and in Canada in May. Are there bands you’re excited to play with, or places you’re excited to go back to or go to for the first time?
DavidSchellenberg: Yeah, of course. I love playing Minneapolis. Minneapolis has always been a great city for us. I really consider it to be Tunic’s first home, like, we played for more people in Minneapolis than we did in Winnipeg, which is funny. I love going to Montreal because I love Turbo Haus and I love Sergio and the dance floor! I also work part-time remotely for Constellation Records, so getting a chance to head to the office and see my coworkers there is always nice. and we’ve never played Nashville, so that’s the first time we’ll be playing Nashville on this tour and it’ll be cool! This is maybe a lame opinion, but I like the cheesiness of Las Vegas so I think I’ll like the cheesiness of Nashville.
PAN M 360: Maybe get a pair of cowboy boots or something?
David Schellenberg: To be honest, when we went to Austin, one of the places Tomas, our bass player, had never been to, he bought a hat and a belt buckle and a big Texan flag shirt. So I just know that he will definitely buy some Nashville tchotchke stuff!
Tunic plays Turbo Haus 10 Year Anniversary May 13 w/ Kennedy, Offset, Whoredrobe, Pnoom TICKETS HERE
SINNAZ is an international electronic music duo, composed of SIM, born and raised in Montreal and NAP, born in Bogota and now living between Montreal and Ciúdad de Mexico. The collaboration began as casual jam sessions, but over time their sound developed, their friendship grew, and they began to create songs.They join forces to unveil a 4 tracks debut EP exploring sounds, emotions and atmospheres from dancehall, dembow and bass music, out on the Vancouver label Isla, founded by NAP. With summer hopefully at the corner, their EP will definetely put you in a mood.PAN M 360 conducted an interview by email to dive into the life and projects of these two excellent producers and very active members of the electronic community.
PAN M 360 : Can you introduce yourselves, your background (related to music ornot)?
SIM: I’m Sim Laporte, born and raised in Montreal, Canada. I’m part of a collective and community-based project called Mata Sound, which facilitates fertile grounds for creation, education and personal elevation. I have a background in Fine Arts and Community Art Education, making pedagogy an intrinsic part of my music and sound practice.
NAP: My name is Daniel Rincon. I was born in Bogota, Colombia and moved to Canada when I was 15. My roots in music come from being a music nerd in my teens working at a record store in Vancouver and going to all of the shows I could get into. These days I make music as NAP and a variation of collaborations with other friends and colleagues (Ambien Baby, Dosis, OSS, La Fe, SINNAZ). I also run the label Isla which I started in Vancouver back in 2016. Currently I live and work between Ciudad Mexico and Montreal.
PAN M 360 : Tell us how your collaborative project, Sinnaz, was born.
NAP: I heard SIMs record on Nervous Horizon when I was living in Berlin 2021 and wrote him saying how much I loved it. I shared some of the music I was making and releasing and it also resonated with him. Then when I got back to Montreal summer of 2021 we met for the first time at my studio and it was love at first jam. Real positive music nerd vibes, being open and sharing what we were excited about with each other. From then on we just kept getting together at my studio to hang and jam.
SIM: I can clearly remember being in the IKEA warehouse being overwhelmed by everything that was happening when I received an interesting email from a certain Mr. Rincon, saying that he would be moving in Montreal, and he wanted to work with me. Instantly intrigued, I accepted the offer and we met over a burrito before starting what eventually would be the first step toward SINNAZ.
PAN M 360 : This EP was created between 2021 and 2023, how did you work together as team andwhat can you tell us about your creative process (the easy parts and the more difficult)?
SIM: Being a fine Ableton connaisseur, and Daniel the MPC master, we naturally migrated to our respective tools within the studio to find a workflow that complements our expertise. I kind of set the first bleeps, then open the recording for Daniel to fiddle around the analog stuff. I would stop the jam to re-adjust and arrange things, and start the recording again! Little by little, we had enough tracks that would sound cohesive in a form of an EP.
I think the main challenge in our creative process is to find the time to work together. Both of us being extra busy with a multitude of on-going projects that gets us travelling around the world makes it difficult for us to be in the same room. But thats also what makes every session all the more meaningful!
NAP: SIM and I defined a nice flow to our studio dynamic early on our jams which became the focus of our process when making the record and something we want to keep developing in the studio. SIM is an ableton wizard so he usually sits at the helm of the mixer recording and mixing/ chopping the lines that i’m adding with gear. I’m usually darting around adding lines with different bits of gear. After recording a series of sounds and sequences (often around a simple loop/beat) we then sit and start cutting By this point we take 15-30 minute shifts tackling edits and arrangement duties, until an edit comes through. After arrangements are made SIM then mixes the tracks down.
As SIM mentioned, the biggest challenge to out process is finding the time to get together as Ive been living between Canada and Mexico the past year and with touring plus school schedules it makes it tough to land but special when it happens.
PAN M 360 : When and where in your musical journey did you fall in love with dancehall, bass andclub music?
SIM: Like many of us, my earliest introduction to dancehall was through Sean Paul’s ‘Dutty Rock’ album. In 2003, I was too young to really grasp my head around Dancehall culture, but I always hanging out with older kids in my neighbourhood. I have a vivid memory of being in 1st grade, and I’m in the dance circle with 6th graders. ‘Get Busy’ is playing. To this day, I still relate to the kid in that music video. It’s later on in my music journey that I rediscovered Dancehall. My first point of entry in electronic music being Dubstep, it wasn’t long until I got into Dub, reggae and soundsystem music as well as UKG and club music as a whole.
NAP: For me it was Reggeaton, Rap and Champed that got me first. The sounds of Big Boi, Control Machete, El Chombo and Daddy Yankee were all playing on the radio growing up and were also the soundtrack to some of the first dances I went to. Eventually I would get into dancehall through my digging journey around 2015 when I got really into dub and its genre offspring. Lately I’ve found a lot of inspiration and joy in exploring the influences of Jamaican sound system culture across Latin American music; from providing us with the Dembow beat that would eventually give birth to the Reggeaton genre to influencing the Sonidero (Mexico) and Pico (Colombia) movements in South America – I’m deep in it right now, especially being around the Snider sound system culture in Mexico City currently.
PAN M 360 : What are the other things you have in common, beside your interest for electronicmusic?
NAP: I think we are both interested in things that are different yet very connected to music, like community and pedagogy. Especially with both of us sharing a background in art education, its always a pleasure to talk about music in that regard, a deeper concern for its sociocultural impact – oftentimes these conversations inadvertently end up informing the music making process anyways.
SIM: Exactly! Because music is an inherent part of us, it’s hard to be totally outside of it. Especially since music has the power to bring people together.
PAN M 360 : The EP is released on Isla, which is NAP’s – very prolific – label, can you tell me moreabout it? It was founded in Vancouver, are you originally from there? If so, what doesthe electronic music scene look like on the Canadian west coast?
NAP: Isla is a label I started in Vancouver in 2016. I bought a tape duplicator from a church in Abbotsford BC and started out dubbing out very limited runs of tapes from my studio, very much inspired by the punk and DIY ethos I grew up with. Since I’ve grown the label to include vinyl production but it’s still very much me releasing whatever feels right (often music and collaborations of mine or music from friends). As for the west coast electronic music scene, it had a very special nascent time in the early 10’s but I think that after much hype it sort of went sleepy… rightfully so as the scene was actually quite small. Personally, the west coast scene of the 80s and 90s seemed to me to be the most rich and full of lore (from Skinny Puppy to Exquisite Corpse to Pilgrims Of The Mind to Download to the Discotext crew) – Vancouver used to be cool!
PAN M 360 : Do you plan on performing as a duo (DJ or live set)?
SIM: Of course! If our schedule allows it haha! But we also have plans to perform, DJ and live with Ultima Esuna, for our project ‘Alta Familia’
NAP: Absolutely! At least some B2B DJ sets in Montreal this summer.
PAN M 360 : In Montreal, what are your favorite places (and crews) to go dance and listening togood music?
SIM: I recently went to Lulu Épicerie in Little Burgundy. AMAZING selection of early funk, disco and soulful house by the Beiroot Groove Assemble. Not to mention the entry comes with a free Shawarma? This place got the SIM stamp of approval!!!
NAP: I haven’t been in MTL the past year but I love playing records in the basement of Sans Soleil. I love the living room party vibes on a weekend there and it sounds great. Shout out Kris Guilty who books and rocks the spot (and also owns the best record store in town; La Rama)
PAN M 360 : Would you say Montreal electronic music scene is defined by language, meaning wecan observe a French and an Anglophone side? How do you feel regarding this? Doyou feel you have more ties to one side or another? How do you navigate thosedifferent spaces, audiences, etc.?
SIM: I think we live in a transitional time here in the Montreal scene. The way more and more artists from around the globe are coming and going around Montreal, I feel like the standard is in English within the Electronic Music scene. It’s hard for me to address this without turning it into a political statement, because of the History behind it, but one thing is for sure: Electronic Music in Montreal is defined by the people cultivating the scene, and its richness should be cherished.
PAN M 360 : What are the next big events/plans for each of you?
SIM: For me, big plans ahead are my tour in Europe, which I’m really excited about, and also Piknic Electronik this summer! Being on the same lineup as legends DJ Stingray and Helena Hauff is nothing but surreal.
NAP: I’ll be back in Montreal this summer with some small Euro tours across the year. Finishing some records I’m excited about (solo and collaborations) and putting out a couple more on Isla and ACA before the year is out.
Great Cuban pianist, composer and improviser Omar Sosa, and Senegalese kora master and singer Seckou Keita are coming together for a first time in Montreal with their Suba Trio, including Venezuelan percussionist Gustavo Ovalles. They will perform on May 6 and 7 at Le National.
They actually have a strong repertoire of two albums: Transparent Water (2017) and Suba (2021). Through this music, they share their specific cultures: West African mandika music, Afro-Cuban music and Afro-Venezuelan music.
Joined in Europe before their tour, they talk generously about their artistic relationship based on a highly creative fusion of heritages between African and Afro-descendent virtuosos.
PAN M 360: Hello Omar, it’s great to have one more conversation with you. Are you still based in Barcelona?
OMAR SOSA: Well, it’s a good question. I have a studio here in Barcelona because when I am in Europe I basically stay here. Also, I have my two kids here in Barcelona so I must have a place to welcome them.
PAN M 360: This time, with this Suba project, you’re working with you know the Great West African tradition, the great mandingo tradition. So, how come have you been there after all those experiments you’ve done before?
OMAR SOSA: It is important for a creative person to go with the flow of the river. God put you in places you never expect but these places are always amazing, when the love is mutual, and this is basically what I think happened with Seckou. We’ve been working together for 12 years, we’ve recorded 2 albums, Transparent Water and the recent Suba. Basically, it’s a hymn to people who are looking for love for peace, for unity, from this idea of being together in one in one world, when everything is in one way or another going in the same direction.
PAN M 360: And what is that direction?
OMAR SOSA: We are so glad to be celebrating together our roots, and our tradition in a contemporary way, but at the same time, respect what the elders already paid to us and for us. And we are here because somebody was before us. And this is basically in one way, while we like to get present in these two points. Afro-Cuban tradition, Mandinka tradition, and South American, African tradition, because we also have in this project a percussion player from Venezuela, Gustavo Vyas who plays Afro-Venezuelan percussion. And some of this information, a lot of people don’t know. Quitiplás is a bamboo drum ensemble that is used to perform music. So for a lot of people, this is a new form. For other people, it’s continuity. Then we put different instruments together around the kora. Seckou plays it in the traditional style of 22 strings kora, but he also plays with a two necks kora, so 44 strings.
PAN M 360: And what brings you together?
OMAR SOSA : Reason number one is respect. We respect each other, so we listen carefully to each other. Reason number two is that we try to be free to express what goes through us. And this is something I really like. We have a structure with our sounds, but we have a moment when we fly because why I consider myself a jazz musician is because of the philosophy, and I try to keep this philosophy inside every piece of music I play. Freedom. I must feel free to even change the structure at some point if I feel this is the way for me to be free, so If I take Mandinka expression, I must feel free to change what I want.
PAN M 360: Seckou Keita joins us at the moment, then let’s ask him about the importance of freedom in the improvisation.
SECKOU KEITA: Indeed, it is open in most cases. There are of course arrangements in our music. But of course, there is also the freedom to express our musical conversation. Since my first meeting with Oma, we haven’t talked. We didn’t know each other at first but our music was speaking for us. So therefore we carry on the same journey. So we keep that open because it is important for us to come together and chat musically with an open spirit. So what we do together it’s beyond our specific tradition.
PAN M 360: Since your first recording, the music language between you guys has probably changed through your performances. So it’s an ongoing process of renewal, isn’t it?
OMAR SOSA: Indeed it changes, it evolves. We already hear each other before we play and we reach the same place sometimes without rehearsing. This is also because we are in a team with no pressure, where artists think that this life is too short to complain. Life is to short to say “Oh, you did this. I did this. Okay, my God, this C minor is not the right C minor.” So it is better for us to say let’s play what the spirits inspire us to play.
PAN M 360: Seckou, from what West African area are you from?
SECKOU KEITA: I am from Sénégal, more precisely from the Casamance area. My culture is Mandinka.
PAN M 360: So you moved to the UK where you recorded wonderful music with harpist Catrin Finch, among other projects. This is not usual to musicians that come from Sénégal, Guinée, Mali, or Ivory Coast, who mostly emigrate to France, the United States, Spain, or even Québec.
SECKOU KEITA : True. So I always say that England chose me. And I met Omar Sosa in England through a mutual friend, Mark Gilmour, an American artist based in the UK. So sometimes different mixes happen. I know some Gambian musicians who live in France, for example. Anyways, those colonial differences are not what Africa was. My own culture can be found in many west African countries so we can meet somewhere else than only French countries in Europe. History is not always what we think. I like when Omar says that Cuba is a province of Africa!
OMAR SOSA: But now the real thing is to bring our cultures together while we feel free to express what we like to say musically. So Suba, our most recent project, is about this.
SECKOU KEITA: In Mandinka, Suba means sunrise, early morning when the sun comes up. So basically, our recent album is about a new morning, about a new world, a new amazing journey, and a new beginning. We thought about it during the pandemic so we imagined this new beginning involving different cultures.
PAN M 360: This trio is evolving. So do you want to maintain this same format or maybe make it different in the near future? Or think about other projects? For example, chamber music could fit very well with this trio.
SECKOU KEITA : You’re right. I mean, this trio music can become relevant for a chamber orchestra or even a symphonic one. I recorded my music with the BBC Symphony Orchestra of 62 people. It’s called Africa Rhapsody and it will be released on May 26th. So yeah! Because we actually have experienced this super trio with Gustavo, it would be another element really interesting for the diversity of our music. We could take it somewhere else!
Kanse is a Japanese electronic music producer based in Tokyo. He signed his first project on Montreal’s Liquid Love Records. An Attidude is a solid six-track album infused with the original techno of the 1980s, the one we would call “proto-techno”. Kanse explores electro-funk roots to which he adds his touch by working on textures and bass in a more contemporary way. PAN M 360 met him to discuss his assumed reminiscences, his relationship with nature, his creative process and the underground techno scene in the Japanese metropolis.
PAN M 360 : An Attitude is your first album. What did you find difficult and how did you overcome those difficulties?
KANSE : I had been making tracks without thinking about having people listen to them, but this is the first time I have made tracks with releasing in mind. I felt that I had not put enough effort into my tracks before. I would get stuck if I faced music alone all the time, so I intentionally made time to distance myself from music or talked with friends to refresh myself. I think that taking some time off allows me to look at my own tracks objectively, and I feel more motivated to create, and ideas seem to come to me naturally.
PAN M 360 : What is the last book you read/or a book you read while working on An Attitude that particularly nourished your creativity?
KANSE : To be honest, I haven’t been reading much lately. My creativity comes mainly from music and club events. Also, movies, traveling, and meeting new people are sources of my creativity.
PAN M 360 : When I listen to An Attitude, I kind of feel the Detroit “proto techno” vibe, represented by artists like Cybotron. Was it part of your inspirations and more generally, what were your inspirations?
KANSE : I think there is a strong influence by classic techno in my music. I like 80s Electro, such as Cybotron’s Clear. It has a unique atmosphere, is danceable and interesting. Not only 80s but also 90s techno releases are also inspiring. I especially listen to Drexciya and DopplerEffekt a lot and I am quite influenced by their drum patterns and bass lines. Also, there are many artists in the world who are still making these Electro-inspired tracks, so their music is also a motivation for me.
PAN M 360 : What is the link between your work as a music producer and the relationship you have with nature? (Your Bandcamp profile picture, and the description of the album makes a lot of references to nature as well, the 4th elements, etc.)
KANSE : I like nature. When I am stuck on making music, I often take a walk along the river near my apartment. I feel that getting in touch with nature is the most refreshing and brings my mind back to neutral. I am not directly influenced by nature in my music, but I would like to try my hand at that someday.
PAN M 360 : What kind of gear do you use to produce music?
KANSE : I mainly use Minilogue, MS-101, and ESX. I also use MakeNoise’s 0-coast occasionally. I use Ableton Live as my DAW. Basically, I use hardware, but sometimes I make music with DAW only. Recently, I bought a new Elektron Syntakt, so I’ve been working on a few tracks with it.
PAN M 360 : What can you tell us about the electronic music scene in Tokyo? Is it more a club scene, an underground scene?
KANSE : The events are mainly held in clubs and live houses. I have not been to any events overseas, but I think the music scene in Tokyo is more underground than Europe and North america. I have the impression that the music scene in Tokyo is particularly strong in experimental and avant-garde genres. And also there seems to be a strong connection with indie rock. There are many events that mix various genres in Tokyo. I enjoy that.
PAN M 360 : Who are the main actors of electronic music scene in Tokyo (crews, artists, promoters…) and can you tell us about few places that are helping grow the electronic music community?
KANSE : It’s hard to answer this question because Tokyo has various scenes dividedly. The events I often go to these days are HYDROSY, Discipline, and 無政府 Dystopia (Museifu Dystopia). Organizers, DJs and artists at each event are a great inspiration to me. My favorite club venues are VENT in Omotesando, BUSHBASH in Koiwa, and SPREAD in Shimokitazawa. I think the record store Naminohana also plays an important role in supporting the Japanese club scene.
PAN M 360 : What are your plans next ?
KANSE : I have a lot of ideas I want to make into music, so I just want to make more tracks. I think this album is a big step forward for me as an artist. I would like to continue releasing more in the future. Also, I have been making music without much awareness of the Japanese music scene, but I would like to approach that and do live performances, etc.
Meet Mac Wetha, a quickly rising producer, DJ, instrumentalist, and vocalist from London, UK. Releasing his debut album Mac Wetha & Friends in 2019, his initial success was largely restrained to the underground. Listeners praised his laid-back, meticulously crafted lo-fi takes that took on elements of grime, bedroom pop, and contemporary British R&B, all laid out against jazzy drums, interesting guitar riffs courtesy of Wetha himself, and the distinctly fuzzy overtones shrouding the project as a whole. In 2023 though, the artist has completely transcended this initial offering—and proven he’s ready for the big time—with a direct sequel: Mac Wetha & Friends 2.
Throughout its 20-odd minutes, Mac Wetha & Friends 2 completely delivers on its title’s promise—friends getting together and simply having fun making music. Each track is imbued with youthful joy and energy that could never be replicated artificially, and a streak of camaraderie and passion runs through the entire album.
We spoke with Mac Wetha to discuss reflections on the new album, aspirations for the future, and his fun, collaborative approach to creating music with his friends.
PAN M 360: I expected you to be chilling now that the album is out, but I heard you were already back into sessions this week. Did you take much of a break?
MAC WETHA: Yeah, I haven’t really stopped the whole time. I’ve kind of just kept running. The way the Mac Wetha & Friends stuff came about, the first one was very much just working with people and then the song just appeared—stuff the artist wouldn’t put out because it’s too left or not the kind of thing they want to put out under their name just yet. Or maybe I pushed the idea for the beat and they were going along with my thing, as opposed to me producing what they were seeing.
It’s kind of similar with Mac Wetha & Friends 2, where it kind of just happened as I went. It didn’t feel like I was locked away like, mad, fucking pulling my hair out. It was a lot of fun to make, which I think is ideally how music should be made. The whole time, I’ve also been in the space on my own and writing for the next thing.
PAN M 360: How does it feel to have this project out in the world? How’s the reception been from people in your life?
MW: It’s been really good. I think it’s my best work to date and I love all the songs. My family loves it, my friends love it, I know the features love it. And we did a really good release show and it was just a great night. I guess, most importantly, I’m very, very critical of the stuff that I make, and I listen to it so much that I lose perspective. But I always think when I truly put it out there, and let it run for a couple of days, and then listen to it on Spotify or whatever, that’s the true reflection. Because now it’s sitting out there and now it’s done. That’s when I’m always the most nervous to listen to it. That’s the scary thing, but I do like the album. I love it. When I had that listen, I was having a really bad day actually, and I was listening to it walking around the city and I was like ‘Well, at least I made a good project.’
PAN M 360: Has anything surprised you about this album since its release?
MW: There’s always been a running joke between my dad and me—we used to live in Spain when I was a kid. We used to joke about how you’d hear Pitbull on the radio, or you know that U2 song where they’re like “Uno, dos, tres, catorze,” and then the rest of the song is in English? Our joke was that if you put in even any bit of Spanish, Spanish people will be like ‘Oh fuck yeah.’ And I did a bit of Spanish on the start of the song with Feux (“Fall Again”) and I looked at the playlist it was in and immediately, it was ‘Musica por trabajar concentrado.’ I was just writing this new stuff and I was like, let’s do some more Spanish. Trying to keep it up.
PAN M 360: What would you say are the biggest lessons learned between making Friends 1 and Friends 2?
MW: Couple of things—first of all, with the collaboration side of it, now that I’m singing more, I’m really glad that I brought in my friends to help with production and engineering and stuff. In the first one, my mind wasn’t on melodies or lyrics, or what I’m trying to say, it was more like trying to make the coolest sound and get the textures right, therefore leaving all the other stuff to the artist. But since I was singing on it this time, it felt right to include my friend Kurisu, Chris, who’s a good friend of mine who did a bunch of co-prod. As well as Dan Holloway, Max Wolfgang, and other guys I worked with.
I’m really glad I did that because there was a second where I was like “Nah, I should produce all of it.” And then I was like, “Literally, why?” That goes against the whole point of Mac Wetha & Friends: trying not to be too fucking egocentric about it. And then also, there’s this thing I’ve been thinking about lately: how when you first start making music there’s a certain naivety that gives way to this pure, inspired thing. You don’t overthink stuff and whatever sounds good, you do. And the more you do music, and maybe even the more success you have in whatever way you define that, the more you’re like, ‘Oh, people like this. I need to be doing this, or that guy’s doing that. So no one else is gonna find this cool.’ There’s that mindset.
So in the journey from Friends 1 and 2, I’ve been kind of unlearning stuff that I’ve learned along the way to almost get back to the same spot I was at in Friends 1. It was very rough around the edges. I mixed it, so the mixing isn’t amazing. There are a lot of things I would change about it now, but I didn’t make it now, I made it then. So I’m very happy with how it was, but there’s something about the way I made it. The lack of overthinking stuff, or even thinking about stuff at all—just purely making it. It’s a mixture of that mindset and the stuff you learn along the way.
PAN M 360: Your more recent work has a bit of both Mac stuff and Mac Wetha & Friends stuff. Do you feel like you’re totally switching modes when you work with other artists versus working solo?
MW: Yeah, I think there is a switch. When I’m working with other people I’m a lot more confident with writing, because I think there’s pressure taken off. I put a lot of pressure on myself when I’m making solo stuff. And I think a lot of that is bad news, and that’s stuff I’m trying to get better with.
Just signing with Dirty Hit was like a childhood dream. And then you’re like, “Fuck, I’m signed to a label, I got to make something good.” Whereas before, I could make whatever the fuck I wanted. It took me a while to realize, that they signed me because they want me to make whatever I want. Dirty Hit isn’t the kind of label that’s gonna be like, now that you’re signed you’ve got to make this shit. It needs to be between these BPMs. Shave your head.
That pressure doesn’t come across so much when it’s collaborative, purely because you’re bouncing off of someone. Through doing Friends 2 and how fun it was, and how much better I was writing and performing with my pals, it reminded me that this is literally what I’ve been doing for my whole musical life. And yet for some reason, when I signed to Dirty Hit I was like ‘Alright, it’s just me now. I’m signed, I need to make this. I need to do that.’ But no, that’s not how it works fucking at all!
There is a kind of switching of modes that I want to change and just make it all one mode. It’s probably something to do with the fact that when I’m doing it myself I feel like I have to be producing and on the laptop, whereas in some of these Mac Wetha & Friends sessions, for example, my boy Chris was engineering, and making things sound good, and he just knows how I want stuff to sound. That part had just gone out of my mind, and now it’s just me and whoever I’m working with, and we’re just doing it.
PAN M 360: Did you find that doing a bit of everything on this album helped the producer and artist brains work in harmony a bit better?
MW: Yeah, I reckon so. Every work that I do and put out brings me closer and closer to what I’m really, really trying to do, as a solo artist even. The Mac Wetha & Friends stuff sits in this fun world where anything goes and everything’s fun. And that’s kind of what I want my solo stuff to be. But like I said, I dropped the first solo thing in 2020, “Culver,” I was so new to it then. I still feel like I’m just figuring it out with every project I do and getting a little bit closer. And the Mac Wetha & Friends stuff speeds that up a lot.
PAN M 360: What are some of the similarities and differences between being a frontman for a band like Scoundrel or Death Pigs versus being the end-to-end producer of your whole vision?
MW: I guess you just doubt yourself a lot more doing it on your own. Just bouncing ideas off people is really beneficial. Hence why I’m trying to work with more friends lately. Being a frontman in a band where you’re screaming, shouting, belting stuff, going a bit nuts—once you do it loads it becomes really easy and you don’t feel scared of an audience, because you’re just doing this crazy shit. And if someone doesn’t like it, you kind of stop caring, I guess.
But when it’s more introspective and you’ve written it on your own, you’re way more vulnerable. Some of the relationships I have with friends who I make music with are so close because I’ve seen them be very vulnerable. We’ve talked and tried to get all that out into the music. But I’d never been in that chair really, or if I had, it was with the band and I was just screaming. It’s just more vulnerable this way when you’re singing.
Criticism of my new work and bad reviews have hit me so much harder than I thought they would, and that’s probably why. Because it’s the first time I’ve really truly been vulnerable like that and this stuff is representing me. Mac Wetha is me. The band is four of us, but this is just me. So if someone hates Wetha music (which they’re more than welcome to do) that, at first, was like ‘Oh, well they fucking hate me as well.’ But obviously, it’s not personal.
PAN M 360: Do you think it also has something to do with the vibe and the subject matter? With the band it’s heavy and emotional, you’ve got your guard up. But with your new stuff, a lot of it is super optimistic and happy. Do you think that also adds vulnerability?
MW: Yeah, I think so. I think it’s quite easy to write sad shit. I’m definitely trying to step out of that a little bit, even though there are definitely some emo sad vibes on this project. I’ve been trying for a long time to write happier stuff and make it not cringy or not insincere. It’s so much harder. I think people can relate so much easier to sad stuff and it kind of just pours out of you. But writing a track that’s happy and uplifting, for me anyway, that’s harder. “Don’t You Go Falling in Love” and “Fairytale” sound quite happy but they’re quite bittersweet or melancholic still. It’s like a reflective kind of sadness, less immediate.
I think since making Mac Wetha and Friends is fun and you’re fucking around and having a great time with your pals, that probably comes across a bit more. Not that I’m not having fun when I’m making music on my own, it’s just that when you’re on your own or with just a couple of guys it’s just a bit different, a different energy. But I was travelling when I made some of the songs on Mac Wetha & Friends 2. In LA, it was like, fucking 40 degrees. I fucking love LA, and I’m excited to be there, so I’m not gonna suddenly sit down and be like “[singing] My girlfriend left meeee/I feel so bad/I hate myseeeeelf.”
PAN M 360: Your EPs and now this album have all felt super edited and refined in terms of length, but they’re always a bit of a tease since they’re done so quickly. Why do you think you’re drawn to briefer statements?
MW: In the band, I used to be able to make these fucking seven-minute-long math rock songs. And I have no problem with that, but like you say, I make a song over four minutes I’m like “Oooh, I don’t know about that.” I think it’s maybe coming from the band background and now working on a computer and being able to speed stuff up, slow stuff down, chop stuff, sample stuff, and manipulate samples, it’s probably a mixture of all that. And also I think simplicity, especially in Mac Wetha & Friends, is very important. I come from a background of making beats and sampling.
In fact, the whole idea of sampling is what made me want to make music on the computer in the first place. Hearing SpaceGhostPurrp and the way he used samples is what got me into it. I think the reason I love sampling is you listen to a beautiful piece of music that’s already got this spirit, and then one bit hits you in particular and you just loop the shit out of that so people can hear that, keep experiencing that.
PAN M 360: Do you remember the first sample you ever flipped?
MW: I don’t think I can remember the first, but the earliest I can remember is maybe a Barney Kessel sample, the jazz guitarist. But the first beat I made which someone used (which was Bone Slim who’s in the nine8collective with me) was a piano and drums, and then at the end, I did a whole minute-and-a-half long sample of a conversation, a la MF DOOM. It was so meticulous. I spent weeks on it, all these mad conversations. I was really on it, fucking all about sampling at this point. I remember sampling the original Planet of the Apes soundtrack as well, that was pretty cool.
PAN M 360: Any plans for touring outside of the UK in the future?
MW: To be honest, it’s kind of confusing what I’m gonna even do live at this point. Because Mac Wetha & Friends 2 is what’s just come out, and I suppose is what people are listening to the most, and I can’t really play that live. I’ve got quite a lot of stuff planned in the UK this year, and if the solo stuff goes well after this, which hopefully it will, I’ll hopefully be in the States and in Canada. I’d fucking love to, it’s like my dream to do that.
Actually, with my band Scoundrel, we played a gig in Quebec City because we won a battle of the bands. No one knew us, I met the mayor of Quebec City, and shit, it was crazy. It was weird. We were there for three nights, it felt like a weird fever dream. All of the Quebec City guys were like, “Man, fuck Montreal.”
PAN M 360: Besides incense, is there anything you need to have nearby to do your best work in the studio?
MW: I’ve got sage burning right now. I also always have a couple of these bad boys. Books. I’ve got the Rick Rubin book. I know, I know. What I’m also really into is having a paper around and doing the crossword, and then writing lyrics on the paper. Because there are just so many words, and I love busy-looking stuff. So if I’d take the train to the studio, I’d always pick up a paper and try to do the crossword on the way. Then I’d get there I’d just put this next to me and any of the ideas I have, I’d just jot down in here. And there’s something about all the manic words fucking everywhere that’s quite inspiring lyrically. But other than that, nothing really.
PAN M 360: Has much changed in terms of your process or workflow since signing with Dirty Hit? Or is it just an opportunity to keep on keeping on?
MW: The negative side of it, which was a small, self-inflicted side was the pressure of being on a label. It could’ve been anyone and the pressure would have gotten to me because it was the first time my music and my thing have been recognized in that way. And for it to be me as a solo artist which was very new to me at the time was quite a lot of pressure that I put on myself. That was the bad change which I think I’ve worked on and gotten better with now. And the good change is being able to live off of making music, I’ve never really been financially stable in my life before signing to Dirty Hit, or if I have, I’ve been working a lot.
I’ve got to the point now where I’ve gotten over the confusion and I just feel very blessed to be able to do it. I do a lot of exercise and stuff that keeps me active, so I’m not always just sitting there and losing my fucking mind. Also, supporting Beabadoobee on their tour. I met them in the studio and we became mates, and then we supported them on tour, which was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. It was insane. In a roundabout way, that was because of Dirty Hit. A lot of things have changed for the better after signing.
PAN M 360: You’ve got a knack for bringing in an artist and letting the collaboration flow both ways, making something really cool that neither of you could come up with on your own. With that in mind, which two or three artists would you call up for your dream collab?
MW: I’d love to make a song with SpaceGhostPurrp. I know, controversial opinion, he’s got a lot of controversial opinions himself. But I would just love to be a fly on the wall or make something with him and understand, and see how his mind works. Because I think he just makes such insane stuff. And then TisaKorean, he’s so sick. So fun. I’d love to just make a beat for Tisa and work with him and do something fun with him, and Spaceghostpurp I’d just like to see how he works. In terms of making a song together and coming out with a product like something on Mac Wetha and Friends or something, maybe Yung Lean. Corbin, maybe. Let’s do both.
PAN M 360: Have you found it tough to be such a genre-rejecter in this brand-focused landscape of music?
MW: I don’t struggle with it, but I do think sometimes about how I’m perceived and stuff. But at the end of the day, I’m just making whatever comes to me and feels right, and trying not to think too much further than that. I think with Cloud Paint, as much as I love the project, I was very much like, ‘Alright, let’s do this kind of more rocky shit now.’ I think I was just putting myself in a box a bit too much. I think it can be beneficial to give yourself limitations so you have a set of rules you can bend and play with, but you’ve still got this focus. But I think I’ve come to realize that what’s best for me right now is just to come to the studio and make whatever I want, and then have loads of songs and see which ones feel right to put out. Hopefully, there’s something that unites all the sounds and comes through it and keeps it all in the same universe.
All the artists I have the most love for, and respect for, musicians that I idolize—specifically people like Lava La Rue, Biig Piig, tendai, Dora Jar, and Bone Slim—I see them not give a single fuck about whatever’s going on, and just make whatever they want. And they have inspirations obviously, and things they draw from, but that’s kind of far removed from the trend of the day on TikTok or whatever. That’s the stuff that lasts the longest, even if it doesn’t blow up in a day and make enough money to buy a fucking house. That would be sick, but also, the point of making music isn’t making money; it’s making sick music.
Hailed for the disturbing and beautiful expressiveness of her sound language, but also for the diversity of her tools, processes and stylistic references beyond the contemporary (serious) music from which she comes, from electroacoustic to metal to noise to video game music, the music of composer Bekah Simms is highlighted here.
More precisely, his sound universe unfolds in the context of a carte blanche suggested by the Paramirabo ensemble and presented in concert with the Groupe le Vivier, this Saturday, April 22, 7:30 pm, at the Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines.
A native of Newfoundland & Labrador, Bekah Simms has lived in Toronto and worked in the contemporary composition scene in Montreal. She now teaches in Glasgow at the Royal Conservatory of Scotland, but is in Montreal this week to refine the program in question.
PAN M 360 : When did you leave Canada to settle in Scotland?
BEKAH SIMMS : Since last summer so it’s quite recent. I am teaching three days a week and doing research and composition the rest of the time. So it’s a really good balance. I love it. Yeah, it’s really wonderful. Like, because it’s a Conservatoire, rather than university. Most of what I do is just one to one teaching. So I’m just like, sort of talking about composition, all the time listening to lots of my students’ music, and it’s very fulfilling.
PAN M 360 : When did your creative relationship has started with Paramirabo and flutist Jeffrey Stonehouse, its artistic director ?
BEKAH SIMMS: It started in 2017. I worked with Jeff, now six years ago, I was doing my PhD at the University of Toronto at the time. During a summer session, Paramirabo was the ensemble in residence and commissioned a work from me, as I was composer-in-residence there during that same period culminating in the context of a contemporary music festival.We’ve stayed in touch ever since. For the first time three years ago, he asked me if I was interested in a carte blanche, so this concert has been in the works for a long time. It was conceptualized three years ago, and we’ve been working on it since then through other projects of course. Five of my pieces are on the program for this concert, two of which were written for Paramirabo. The others were written for different ensembles.
PAN M 360 : More specifically, what about those 2 pieces written for Paramirabo?
BEKAH SIMMS: The pieces are very different from one another. The first one is called With Dawn in Our Lungs for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, percussion and piano, it’s from 2017. And the premiere is from January, so it’s very recent. And in a way, this concert must be seen as a whole. It kind of traces my own development as a composer and how I’ve changed. So you can hear hints of some of the things that I’m interested in, and what I would evolve into in the 2017 piece, and then this piece, the premiere, is just sort of a more mature and realized voice. And as they are similar in length, with similar instrumentation, but the music has, I think, progressed quite a bit. And so, in a way, it shows that through a relationship with musicians of an ensemble, you learn to trust them, and so you can gradually do more difficult and experimental things with that ensemble that can bring them to life.
PAN M 360 : I see. So if we see your progression through this program, how could you describe it with words before the concert?
BEKAH SIMMS :Yeah, well, I mean, you can definitely see that it’s progressively more and more technologically inspired, more and more like sort of electronic sounds kind of enter the fray. And it gets more and more technologically involved as well. So a lot of my music has sort of these audio cues that are lined up and have to be triggered live. So the first piece on the program, it’s just a piece where you press play, and then it sort of plays through all these electronics. The second piece of electronics has like seven times that you press play, and then the most recent one has 16. So you’ll see that it’s just like gotten more and more involved and more and more precise. And that’s me also is getting more comfortable with the medium of working this sort of electronic sounds and synthesizers and things that are out of tune. And I would also say that the most recent pieces are kind of the most fun and most groovy, especially when you go through academia, as a composer, you kind of think, Okay, I have to be very serious, I need to be serious with my art. And then after sort of graduating and getting away from it, it’s almost like I’m more comfortable doing the things that I just really liked to do, whether they’re serious or not. And so I think that there’s a little bit of fun, then in the more recent one, whereas the piece that I wrote for them in 2017, is quite delicate.
PAN M 360 : Also, between instrumental music and electronic music, it is always very to find a good balance. It’s very hard to find, you know, the fluidity between instruments, and textural approaches of electronics, and very few people start to be very comfortable joining those 2 different paths.
BEKAH SIMMS : It can be really challenging because very few people start doing electronics and instrumental writing at the same time. Usually, either you are like a producer who has to learn how to compose or you’re a composer who has to learn how to produce. So you’re always kind of trying to play catch up. For me, I actually did this mentorship, when I was 26, with Martin Bédard here in Montreal at the Conservatory. And a lot of my approach is kind of modeled after his, which is for the electronics to largely use the sounds of instruments. And so if I have a certain group of instruments on the stage, and then the electronics are sort of built from sound recordings of those instruments, there’s an automatic connection between what you hear on stage and what you hear in the speakers. And so it’s a little bit of a shortcut into making them sound like they belong together. And it’s not two different worlds at the same time.
PAN M 360 : You’re from a more recent regeneration generation, less afraid to mix things like you do.
BEKAH SIMMS : Yeah, of course, of course, like, I think that in general millennials, that are in this genre of composing, there’s a much more like, multifaceted approach. And people are influenced by a lot of different genres, even though they’re writing concert music. So you know, your concert music is influenced by folk music or by drone music or by electronic dance music. I’m very influenced actually, by video game music, especially for indie games, it is very, like, sort of low fi, throwback, electronic music. And so in my creation, I kind of use some synthesizer patches that kind of evoke that 8 bit kind of sound. And I just, I feel empowered to do that. Because the listening environment is just so eclectic. For myself and for most people.
PAN M 360 : So it became more and more welded.
BEKAH SIMMS : Yeah, and the way it also became, like, the first ones are all electronics are very instrumental sounding, that actually, as I developed, I got more and more comfortable having the electronic sound more and more distance from the elements on stage, because I wasn’t afraid so much about, I know how difficult it is to make sure that they sound like they belong together. So for example, like the creation has a synthesizer sound, that’s almost kind of like a video game soundy and sort of Lo Fi sound, which I wouldn’t have been comfortable enough to do or whether or not confident enough. You know, I’d be worried that it stands out too much, you know, how do I make it sound? Like it’s all one piece. But now, you know, you hit your 30s? And you’re like, it doesn’t matter I’m gonna make this interesting.
PAN M 360 : Yeah, that sounds very good. Because you did, you’re developing some skills as a producer that you didn’t have first, when you were trained. First, you’re trained as an instrumental composer. And after you discovered the electronic.So then, to really have the electronic aspect very well suited in your own craft, it takes some time to understand all the textural possibilities that instrumental don’t have.
BEKAH SIMMS : Exactly. Yeah, it took a really long time. And like when you start as a composer, you know, I was sort of developing that since I was like, you know, late teenager, early 20s. And then the electronics came much after but you’re also trying to learn a new skill while composing a piece. So the development feels a little slower, because you’re focusing on so many different things. And I would say it’s only in the last like, maybe a couple of years. And yeah, I’m quite happy with how the electronic elements sound in my music.
PAN M 360 : Obviously, there are more producers and composers referencing popular and serious forms of music in the same corpus.
BEKAH SIMMS : Yeah, I feel like there was I think, even if you look back in the 20th century, there was a ton of popular music artists that were influenced by people like Stockhausen and stuff. And I think it just took a really long time for composers to allow the influence from popular music to become a little bit more obvious in what we do. I don’t know why we were so as a group, reluctant or hesitant to do that, but I think that all of that has blown out of the water now people my age have no no issue. So just like referencing all sorts of popular music, certainly for me, like I released an album back in October, one piece is based around metal music from three different bands. And one other piece of mine is totally based around the music of Joanna Newsom. So my music is really rooted in this idea of referencing other genres.
PAN M 360 : So it’s going to be a diverse program on Saturday !
BEKAH SIMMS : Yeah, so it It’s actually a, there’s a lot of variety within my pieces, there’s a lot of variety from piece to piece, because like, four of the five are for the Paramirabo instrumentation but one of them is for flute solo. Two of them are acoustic, three of them are electroacoustic. One of them is 4 minutes long. One of them is 11 minutes long. So yeah there’s like a ton of variety in a bunch of different factors.
This Friday, April 21, the Montreal group Hippie Hourrah unveils its second album entitled Exposition Individual, inspired and created by the work of the late Quebec painter, Jacques Hurtubise. A few days before the publication of the project, Pan M 360 met the three members of the group, Miles Dupire-Gagnon, Gabriel Lambert, and Cédric Marinelli at the latter’s painting studio in order to learn more about this new chapter of their artistic history.
Under the Simone Records label, the trio rose to prominence in 2021 with the opus Hippie Hourrah!, a proposal with psychedelic sounds, also tinged with pop and even folk. This time, the three men return to the charge with a concept album around the art of the artist Jacques Hurtubise, a member of the family of the group’s percussionist when they perform on stage. Recently, the group’s voice, Cédric Marinelli, was charmed by the painter’s work and offered to make it the guideline of their second long format. Moreover, the Onibaba painting d’Hurtubise adorns the cover of the book and gives a good image of the project, making it as coherent as it is eclectic. Also, the titles of the pieces are all those of paintings by Jacques Hurtubise and served as a starting point for the development of the songs.
With the help of the writer Ralph Elawani, Hippie Hourrah drew its inspiration from the impressive artistic catalog of Jacques Hurtubise. On the album, Elawani plays the role of a journalist and appears several times in narrative tracks, providing additional depth to the concept. Composed of 14 titles, this project offers pieces with atypical structures infused with synths, all crafted around the singular and bewitching voice of Marinelli. The creative casualness of Hippie Hourrah shines on ExhibitionIndividual and gives life to excellent titles such as “Unfathomable Nights,” and “Brush in the Tomb,” which are undoubtedly two favourites for the author of these lines.
PAN M 360: Why were you inspired by the art of Jacques Hurtubise?
CEDRIC MARINELLI: At a certain point, I completely fell into discovering Jacques Hurtubise and his art. Jacques is in the family of our percussionist and I have always seen his works, without really knowing who he was. Recently, I went to the workshop where his family takes care of his paintings. I found the experience very inspiring and thought it would make a great guideline for our project. Naturally, I discussed with members of Jacques Hurtubise’s family and I was sent his catalogs with all his paintings. It is precisely from there that we took the names of each of the songs of our project. His family liked our vision and thought it would introduce his art to younger generations. Almost all the texts on the album have as their starting point an element of the life of Jacques Hurtubise, and they are as much works as moments of his life. That being said, the titles of Individual Exhibition do not exclusively deal with Jacques and we approach several other different subjects. The narrative pieces also reinforce the concept of the album and bring a little something extra musical to the project.
PAN M 360: Let’s talk about the Onibaba canvas that adorns the album cover. Why did you make this choice?
HIPPIE HOURRAH: We chose this canvas because of the effect it had on us. We love the aesthetics and the feeling that the work gives off. Jacques Hurtubise’s family offered us several canvases for the cover and we looked at them all carefully. When we saw Onibaba, we all agreed that it was the one that best represented the project.
PAN M 360: How did you choose the paintings that would become the titles of your songs?
HIPPIE HOURRAH: We chose the paintings that made us trip and inspired us to create. For example, Jacques made “Rorschach” style canvases. Rorschach was a psychologist who developed a therapy tool that is still used today. The principle is simple, it is to show an abstract painting to a patient and ask him to describe what he sees. Jacques has already made canvases in the style of those presented for this test. For the song from our album called “Rorschach,” we played along and wrote about what we saw on works of this style that we found on the internet. The song is squarely about what a patient would say to a doctor, it’s quite interesting.
PAN M 360: Is there a parallel to be drawn between what the painting gives you and your music?
CÉDRIC MARINELLI: Clearly. And I think that’s why we wanted to be inspired by a visual artist and the title of the album is ExhibitionIndividual. For us, each song is a painting. I really like lots of different art forms, I especially love abstract painting. In the composition of our music, we always have this desire for expansion and research that goes beyond what is known. It really is like painting. In our new project, we go further than what we know musically through research, improvisation, and imagination.
PAN M 360: You say that you go beyond certain musical limits in this new work. How would you describe this proposal?
HIPPIE HORRAH: It sure is psychedelic. It is musically, but also in the general attitude of the project. Sometimes, in this project, we explore more pop and rock avenues. There is a bit of everything in this project and our influences are very vague. It’s a happy mix of musical styles wrapped in a psychedelic universe.
PAN M 360: By its rhythm and its color, the title “Nuits insondables” stands out from the rest of the album. Tell me a bit about the history of this song.
HIPPIE HOURRAH: This is probably the rawest track on the album. When we worked on this track, it was super easy compared to other tracks that we worked on for a long time. There is a certain simplicity in “Nuits insondables,” which goes well with Cédric’s very personal lyrics. It is at this level that this piece differs from the others in the project. This title gives you time to catch your breath before setting off again. We’ve been hanging out at Esco for years and Cédric works there. He wanted to make a song about this area which is well-known to musicians here.
PAN M 360: Your writing is neat and poetic. What does your creative process look like in terms of writing?
CÉDRIC MARINELLI: I have always written with Ralph Elawani, a good friend of mine. He is the one who speaks on the narrative frameworks of the album. Generally, I don’t have any particular technique. We start with an idea and we build from that. For this project, we wanted each song to have the name of a painting by Jacques Hurtubise. As I said earlier, each song bears the name of a canvas, and we started from that as a source of inspiration to create.
PAN M 360: Which Exposition Individualpiece are you most looking forward to performing on stage?
HIPPIE HOURRAH: We’re definitely looking forward to “Unfathomable Nights” and “Pur Sang Rouge.” We had a lot of fun doing “Time of the Dead” on Exposition Individual, it’s really trippy. It will be good to have new material to do during our shows. Our performances could take a different turn, we can’t wait. Before, we didn’t have so many tunes, so we threw ourselves into endless instrumental sequences. We really don’t hate it, but it’s hard to do an hour show like that. More concise pieces, it’s not a refusal.
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